Fallen Angel
by crazyhorse08
Summary: Golden hair draped over her body, shining with radiance amongst the pure white snow. Pale, soft skin that rivaled the best silk cloths...She was staring at an angel. AU /SoraXLayla/
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Um this could be a good thing or a bad thing considering how you look at it, but yeah new story from me! So enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Ugh I really don't know any interesting thing to put here, but I do not own Kaleido Star or anything recognizable from the original series. **

* * *

It was a quiet afternoon. Numerous pairs of eyes stared at the circular, black rimmed clock hanging on the wall, watching, waiting in agony for the little arms to move closer to their mark. The atmosphere of the room was thick, not one person dared to mutter a word for fear of breaking the agonizing rhythm of the clock.

_Tick, tock. _

_Tick, tock._

Just two more minutes to go.

_Tick, tock._

Everyone held their breath as the long arm of the clock inched closer and closer to the twelve at the top of the circle.

_Tick, toc- BRIIIINNGGG!_

Immediately the classroom sprang to life and the hyper chatter of students filled the entire school. Papers were being shuffled and chairs were being scraped across the floor as students rushed to pack their belongings and head home for a much needed break.

"Finally! Winter break is here!"

Sora looked over to her neighbor, a dirty-blonde haired boy with bright blue eyes, who was currently stretching his arms over his head.

"Well, you sure look happy Ken."

Ken stopped stretching and looked over to Sora, grinning widely, "Happy is an understatement. I can't wait to go home and just relax without hearing Mr. Eido's commanding voice for two whole weeks!"

"You called Mr. Robbins?"

"Eeep!" Ken froze up and slowly turned his head to see Kalos, their English teacher, looming over him. "N-not at all sir! I-I was just saying how I was looking forward to writing that ten page essay over the holidays."

"Good to hear that. I'm sure you'll enjoy writing it as much as I will when I read and grade your paper _first_. I hope you have a great break and happy holidays, Mr. Robbins, Ms. Naegino."

"H-happy holidays," both Ken and Sora replied.

As soon as Kalos was quite a ways away from their desk, both Sora and Ken heaved a breath of relief and Ken gave Sora a look that seemed to say, 'See what I mean?'

Sora laughed and gave him a look of sympathy and they soon started to resume their packing, "So what are you doing over the break?"

"Oh nothing much, but I am leaving with my family to visit relatives in New York."

"That sounds fun. How long are you going to leave for?"

Ken shrugged his shoulders, "Eh, it'll be alright. I'll be gone for pretty much the whole two weeks. How about you?"

They finished packing their belongings and after double checking for all the supplies needed for their homework over the break, they both headed out the classroom doors.

"Just staying home and doing homework it seems. I can't visit my family because we currently don't have the money for me to keep flying back to Japan for every single break. Once I transferred here, we already decided that I go back for summer and summer only," Sora sighed.

Ken looked at her and sensed her sadness, "I'm sorry you can't spend Christmas at my house like you usually do, but I don't leave till tomorrow afternoon so do you want to see a movie or something together? A-and then maybe go grab something for dinner t-together?" He blushed and gulped, not quite looking Sora in the eyes.

Sora smiled at him, "Thank you Ken, but I wouldn't want to bother you. You probably have to pack and stuff anyway right? I'm sure your mom would get on your case if you went home late."

"N-no! Not at all! I'm sure if I explain it to my mother, she'll understand," Ken protested.

"No it's okay. Besides I have to run to the library really quick to get some books for the essay and the librarian asked me to stay a little after school to help her clean up as her aide. Thanks for the offer though," Sora went up and gave Ken a hug. "And thanks for worrying about me all the time. You really are a great friend. Happy holidays and have fun in New York for me!"

"N-n-no problem. A-anytime. Happy holidays to you too and I'll be sure to send you postcards and souvenirs."

"Bye Ken! Have fun!"

"Goodbye Sora," And with a wave he walked down the stairs, not quite satisfied with how things turned out.

* * *

Sora hummed to herself as she reached up and placed the last book from the cart to the bookshelf. After making sure she had done her job correctly, she pushed the cart back into the backroom and called out to Mrs. Valentine, the librarian, "Mrs. Valentine, I finished putting back all the returned books."

Mrs. Valentine, a humble woman in her late forties smiled, "Thank you Sora. You're such a good girl, staying after school to help even though it's winter break."

"Oh it's no big deal. I'm more than happy to help! Oh yeah, before I leave I need to check out some books really quick," Sora said and she quickly grabbed the books she had already picked out beforehand and gave them to Mrs. Valentine.

"Anything for you," she happily said as she scanned the books. "There you are and have a nice holiday Sora!"

"You too, Mrs. Valentine! Bye!"

Walking down the hallway, Sora looked outside the window.

It was snowing.

As much as Sora loved the snow, she had to sigh in disappointment. Walking home while it was snowing wasn't something Sora had hoped to experience today. All she wanted to do was get home quickly, warm herself up with a hot cup of hot coco and forget about everything until the next day while watching the pre-Christmas specials on TV, but it seems that her plans will have to be delayed for thirty more minutes.

Grabbing everything she needed from her locker and putting it in her backpack, she put on her thick, wool coat and opened the door to face the bitter cold.

A chilly breeze snaked its way through Sora's coat making her shiver and pull up her jacket tighter to her face. Staring down the empty, white street, she heaved a foggy breath and started trudging through the snow.

One by one the streetlights flickered on as the sun was making its way down the horizon.

One by one the store lights turned on; neon signs bringing color to the streets.

One by one, the snowflakes silently fell, making its way into Sora's hair, dying her hair with white powder. Taking out her hand from it's warm abode, she quickly brushed the white flakes off her head and stuffed her cold hand back into its pocket, silently cursing herself for forgetting to wear a hat that day.

The snowflakes kept falling faster and faster, merging into one as they touched the floor. Looking at her surroundings, Sora saw the opening to the park and decided to take a shortcut. After all, she didn't want to be covered in snow by the time she reached home.

The park was quiet as usual. It was a rundown, little play set with two swings, an elephant slide and a roundabout. Rusted, scratched and dirty, the playground had been the place of entertainment for the children of the neighborhood for many years. Once, around this time, there would have been many children running and laughing, building snowmen and having snowball fights, but as the years went by, the numbers diminished one by one. With modern technology, many children opted to stay home with their game stations and with the opening of a new playground two blocks away, the kids that did play outside migrated there. But regardless of its worn down state, Sora found herself drawn to the humbleness of it when she first moved to the States and it became a place of solitude for her.

Sora walked through the snow covered park quickly, head in the clouds thinking about that last cup of hot instant noodles waiting for her. As she rounded the corner of the playground, she took a quick glance at the park and noticed that she wasn't alone. Squinting, she spotted a mysterious figure next to the slide. The snow was falling heavier than ever and obscured her vision. Shrugging, Sora started to walk away, heart pounding slightly faster from fear; her mother's horror stories coming up in her head.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Sora spared a glance back at the mysterious figure, checking if it was following her. She sighed in relief as it seemed to pay her no attention and Sora was about to head on her way, until she did a double take and gasped in surprise.

Focusing her gaze, she could make out patches of blonde hair peaking out from under the piles of snow. Looking even closer, she could make out the body of a woman. However, what had made her stop in her tracks was the fact that this strange, blonde haired woman was _naked. _

Instantly, Sora's caring heart welled up inside and she quickly ran up to the woman with a worried expression on her face. Images flashed through her mind as she wondered how this person came to be in this state.

"Hello? Are you okay?" Sora called out to the blonde sitting against the slide. Taking out her hands, she brushed the snow off the girl and the touch of her fingers against the frozen skin made her shiver.

Looking at her closely, Sora saw that the woman was a girl about her age, possibly older by about two or three years. She seemed to be American with a long slender face and was very well endowed, Sora noted with a blush as she brushed the snow off the girl's body. For a second, Sora found herself captivated.

Golden hair draped over her body, shining with radiance amongst the pure white snow; pale, soft skin that rivaled the best silk cloths; and sitting, although unconscious, elegantly, while snowflakes fell silently and gracefully around her.

She was staring at an angel.

A _fallen _angel.

Placing two fingers against the woman's neck, she sighed in relief as she felt a heartbeat. Looking closer, she also saw the slight rising and lowering of her chest. Sora breathed easier; at least she knew she was alive.

Initial surprise passed, Sora mentally questioned the blonde, wondering what exactly happened to get her naked, in the snow and sitting there for possibly hours from the amount of snow piled on her previously. Sora placed a hand on the girl's cheek and jumped back in surprise as her line of vision was suddenly filled with blue.

Ice, cold blue.

Blue that froze her in her place, constricted her breathing, and sent chills straight to her bone.

As Sora's brown orbs continued staring at icy blue ones, the blonde narrowed her eyes into a glare that made Sora tremble.

Sora decided then that what she was staring at was not an angel, but an ice queen.

* * *

**A/N: It was originally going to be a long one-shot (like around 8k words), but I felt where I ended this scene was a nice ending for a chapter, so it became a short chaptered story. I want to finish this by the end of December because of the wintery theme so let's see what'll happen :**

**As always, comments and criticism are appreciated so it'll make me happy if you pressed the little button labeled 'review' and tell me your thoughts! Also, okay for sure, 'Delirium' will be updated next! So I hope you guys will look forward to it :D**

**Till next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Ummm, I'm sorry?...eheheh and enjoy! ^_^;;**

**And to a certain someone...Does this answer your question? :3**

**Disclaimer: I'm not worthy to own Kaleido Star.**

* * *

A cold wind snapped Sora out of the blonde's spell. She closed her eyes and shook her head, regaining her senses. She looked back at the blonde and saw that the woman was still gazing intently at her. Still worried, Sora spoke, "Are you okay?"

The blonde stared at her for a little longer, then quickly turned her head away with indifference and annoyance. Sora couldn't help but continue looking at her, dumbfounded by her attitude.

"Um, uh, I'm going to call the hospital. You'll get help soon." Sora dug into her school bag and took out her phone. Just as she was about to call, the woman abruptly grabbed her wrist with a freezing grip, again, glaring at her with her cold, blue eyes.

"Wha-what are you doing? I'm trying to get you help!" Beginning to become afraid, Sora tried to yank her arm away from the blonde, but her grip was too strong. In midst of the struggling, the woman suddenly let her go, but because it was so sudden, her phone fell out of her hands and into the snow. Standing in shock, Sora looked at her phone, to the blonde, then to her phone again before reaching down to pick it up. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was still working after drying it off.

Tucking it back into her schoolbag, she couldn't help but frown at the naked girl. Thinking of all the other ideas in her head, Sora closed her eyes and heaved a foggy breath, "Well… I guess since you don't want to go to the hospital, I'll take you to my house to at least warm up."

She took of her jacket and gently put it over the pale woman, feeling her eyes on her as she did so. Immediately feeling the cold snow after taking off her jacket, she held out her hand to the blonde, trying as hard as she could to not chatter her teeth.

Waiting with her outstretched hand, Sora was not surprised that the blonde did not take it right away. Frowning a bit, Sora heaved another sigh before breaking out into a kind and friendly smile, "I'm not going to hurt you and I promise, I won't call the doctor."

Another few moments passed by and Sora began to feel awkward and _extremely _cold. Just as she was about to drop her hand, however, long, slender fingers lightly wrapped themselves around her hand.

Sora closed her fingers, holding the blonde's hand and helped her stand up. She was amazed at how healthy the woman looked after being in the snow naked for most likely hours. Now that the blonde was standing, Sora saw that the woman was quite a few inches taller than herself, although it wasn't surprising since she was considered to be short in America. Other than the fact that the woman's skin was ghostly pale and cold to the touch, she showed no signs of injury from assault nor any signs of illness and injury from the freezing temperatures. In fact, she was glowing. Sora noticed it when she first saw her, but now, the golden aura just seemed to be stronger.

Just as soon as the woman stood, however, the golden radiance disappeared and her body became limp, falling onto Sora. The sudden shift in balance surprised Sora and they both ended up falling into the snow. Groaning, she opened her eyes and saw that the blonde's head had fallen on top of her breasts. "Eeep!" Sora squealed and blushed at the position they were in. "H-hey, w-what are you doing?"

The woman did not respond and when Sora looked closer, she saw that she had fainted. Her cheeks were flushed and she was breathing quickly and heavily. "A-ano, are you okay?" Sora asked instinctively and placed her hand on the blonde's forehead.

Her hand sprung back. It was _burning_.

"Oh no, you're burning up," Sora began to panic, getting into a sitting position and to the best of the ability help the woman and herself up. Ignoring her own coldness, Sora placed one of the woman's arms over her shoulders and slowly, but steadily headed on home.

* * *

It took Sora twenty minutes to get to her house from the playground. Teeth chattering by the time she arrived at the door, she dug into her bag and fumbled with the keys to the door. "Damn it," Sora muttered frustrated as her shivering hands missed the keyhole once again.

Finally getting the door open, Sora hurried into her house as fast as she could and without thinking another second about it headed straight to her bed and tried as best as she could to get the blonde on top of it. Heaving a breath, she began to tuck in the woman and rushed to get a wet towel to place on top of her forehead.

Finished with doing all that she could for the stranger, Sora stood up and breathed calmly for the first time. Although the woman was still unconscious and breathing heavily, she showed signs of slowing down. Making sure once again the woman was comfortably tucked in, Sora changed out of her wet clothes and began preparing some warm water and medication. Walking back into her room, she glanced longingly at the phone, but decided against it after the incident earlier. _'I'll call the hospital if she doesn't improve by tomorrow.'_

Sitting on her small bed, Sora gently propped up the unconscious woman with her arm. "Hey," Sora said kindly, "I got some medicine that'll make you feel better." The woman seemingly heard Sora as she cracked open a tired blue eye and looked at her.

"Here," Sora took one of the pills and began to put it in the blonde's mouth, but to her surprise, her hand slapped away by the woman and the pill fell to the floor. Sora sat there in shock at the energy the blonde had managed to recover, but as she felt the woman beginning to struggle against her arms, Sora snapped to her senses and wrapped her arms around her tighter. Sora held on to the blonde as she fought and began whispering into the golden locks.

"Shhhh," Sora gently whispered, "It's okay. Don't be afraid. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." She continued repeating the quiet mantra and as she felt the girl begin to calm down, Sora loosened her hold and began to use one hand to softly run through the blonde hair.

The woman, seemingly out of energy, finally stopped her struggling. "Now, I'm going to give you some medicine to heal you. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise," Sora whispered kindly to the blonde and seeing no resistance, placed the pills into the woman's mouth and gave her water to wash it down. "Good girl. See? That wasn't too bad."

She didn't respond, not that Sora expected her to, and instead turned her head away from Sora.

Sighing, Sora tucked in the blonde again and began cleaning up. "They're nighttime pills so you'll start feeling drowsy soon."

Still no response.

"Well, I hope you get better soon." And with that Sora turned off the lights and closed the door.

* * *

"AGHH!" Sora let out an annoyed growl as she stepped into the shower. Hot water came pouring onto her cold body, quickly enveloping her in its warmth and thawing her frozen skin. Normally, getting into a nice and warm shower would have made Sora feel like the happiest girl in the world, but today, she couldn't help but sulk with the most depressed frown on her face and feel as if the world was going to die. However, today was far from any normal day. It had been a day that Sora never once in her life thought she would have. Picking up a naked girl in the park and taking her home…she couldn't help but chuckle when she imagined what her friends and parents would say if she told them that.

Speaking about the girl, the blonde was definitely an enigma. Just how did she end up in the park the way she did? Sora's mind immediately came up to the conclusion of rape and sexual assault, but there was no clear indication if that really did happen. Sora sincerely hoped that that wasn't the case, but without a medical examination, there was no way to find out besides hearing the case from the victim's own mouth…and that didn't look like it would happen anytime soon.

Aside from the strange way she got there was the strange attitude she gave. Sora huffed in annoyance at the memory. Honestly, Sora could not help but wonder why the blonde acted so coldly towards her. Sora could understand that one may act weird and reject any human contact after a sexual assault, but the fact was, the blonde did not act scared at _all._ If anything, she reminded Sora of a princess: a beautiful, snooty, conceited, _naked _princess. She out rightly resisted Sora's help, even though she did cave in eventually, and always looked at her in an annoyed manner with those ice blue eyes of hers.

_Her eyes_. Sora shivered at the thought. No matter what she did, the memory of the intense gaze she gave her was lodged in her mind. Shaking her head in the water to rid herself of the memory, Sora sighed when she found herself looking into those eyes again. Eyes of the clearest blue, she decided that those were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen before. They even surpassed Ken's eyes, who also had eyes that would make any person swoon. However, unlike Ken whose eyes were soft and friendly, the woman's eyes were full of anger and if one looked closer, sorrow.

Sighing once again, Sora erased her mind of her thoughts and turned off the water.

* * *

After quickly checking in on the blonde to see if she was still sleeping (which she was), Sora quietly headed to her kitchen and rummaged around the cabinets for something edible to eat. Successfully locating her last cup of instant noodles, Sora filled it with hot water, making a quick mental note to refill her groceries tomorrow.

Just as Sora was about to dig into her hot cup of noodles, she heard a large thud coming from her bedroom and immediately rushed to see what had happened. Seeing a big bundle of blankets on the floor and the bed unoccupied, Sora first assumed that the blonde had somehow escaped, but threw out the idea when she saw strands of gold poking out of the comforter.

"Uh, are you okay?" Sora asked placing the cup of noodles on a nearby desk. There was no response so she sighed and headed to the bundle of blankets to dig out the blonde head. Finding her, Sora saw that she was seemingly unconscious still, but when she placed her on the bed again, she saw that the blonde was actually very much awake.

Wanting to lighten up the atmosphere, Sora joked, "You gave quite a scare there, falling and making all that noise. Made me think a burglar or something broke in eheheh."

Just like Sora predicted, the woman didn't make any sign of acknowledgement toward Sora and kept staring out the window. "Well, uh get well soon."

Just as she was about to get up and leave the room, Sora heard a loud rumbling and quickly turned her head towards the noise. There was nothing out of the ordinary, as the blonde was still looking out the window, but when Sora studied her face, she could see a tiny red blush make its way across her face. Smiling, Sora asked kindly, "Are you hungry?" The blonde didn't respond, but her stomach did, growling loudly. Her face grew even redder and Sora giggled in understanding. '_She probably fell because she wanted to find something to eat.'_

Sora grabbed her cup of noodles and looked at it longingly, her own stomach silently rumbling. Shaking her head, she pushed down her stomach's desires and sat on the bed. Picking a decent amount of noodles with her chopsticks and lightly blowing on them, Sora seemed to grab the attention of the blonde. "Here. It may not be much, but it should be enough to fill your hunger for now."

The woman quirked up an eyebrow and looked at the noodles with disgust. Having already learned to expect this strange behavior from the blue eyed enigma, Sora just brought the noodles closer to the woman's mouth. Stubborn as usual, the blonde pursed her lips and backed away from it as if it was the plague.

Eyebrows twitching in irritation, Sora took a deep breath and silently reminded herself that the blonde had been through many things that lead to her current state. "Don't worry. It doesn't look like the tastiest thing around, but looks can be deceiving. Students practically live off these things!… So it must be good!" Sora said smiling.

The girl gave Sora her attention again and looked at the steaming noodles with a wary eye. "Here, one bite, please?" Sora gave the blonde her most honest look, trying to get her to trust her. Inside, Sora couldn't help but feel as if she was persuading a lost and scared golden kitten…no, scratch that. She was far from a kitten, she was a lion.

The blonde stared at her and the noodles again, still looking as if she was resisting the urge to give in to her hunger, but as soon as her stomach rumbled again, the girl blushed and grudgingly opened her mouth to take a bite. When the girl took a bite of the noodles, Sora intently watched her reaction as she chewed slowly, swallowed and gave no reaction whatsoever. They stared at each other for a few moments, Sora still a bit unsure about the blonde's lack of reaction, but then Sora looked closer and saw that the blue eyes were not staring at her, but slightly tilted down towards the foam cup in her hand.

Sora couldn't help but crack a smile.

Grinning widely and excited from the turn in events, Sora continued to happily feed the blonde without another word.

* * *

Two days passed. Things had become _relatively _normal back in Sora Naegino's humble apartment… well as _relatively_ normal as it could be with a stranger you randomly picked up from the street. The blonde's fever had reduced quite a bit and Sora found that her attitude had improved. She took her medications without any hassles and ate whatever Sora put on the dinner table without a look of disgust. There was one little problem however…

"I'll be going now!" Sora said to the blonde sitting on her couch. She stood at the doorway, waiting for a response that never came. Sighing, Sora put on her beanie, zipped up her jacket and headed out the door.

…The blonde still hasn't spoken a single word or made a single noise since she had stayed at Sora's house.

Sora was currently out buying groceries since now she had _two _mouths to feed instead of one this year. Although she was going to go out yesterday, she didn't feel quite comfortable leaving a stranger alone in her house unattended. While she didn't sense any hostility or ill-will coming from the blonde, it was always better to be safe than sorry.

Living with the ice queen, as Sora had dubbed her in her mind, turned out to be an interesting experience. After the first day, the blonde turned out to be easy to take care of since she didn't protest anything Sora did anymore, well except for visiting the hospital. Unlike Sora's initial thought, the woman was no hassle at all for she did absolutely nothing whatsoever. For the whole day, she would lie in her bed, stare out the window and ignore Sora unless it was time to take her medication or be fed. While Sora didn't really mind, for she figured the blonde was still in shock from whatever incident she suffered from, she still had hoped the woman would say _something_ to her. It was, how would you say it…quite awkward after all.

Humming, Sora pushed her cart through the aisle grabbing various vegetables, meat and dairy products. Also making its way into her cart was a large box of instant ramen noodles: a starving, poor student's best friend. Pushing her cart into the frozen foods section, she was greeted by a familiar bearded face.

"Soraaa!"

"Mr. Policeman!" Sora waved and proceeded to push her cart closer to the giant. Jerry the policeman was the first person Sora met when she first arrived in the United States. Sora mentally laughed at the memory. On the first day, Sora remembered thinking that coming to America was the worst mistake she has ever made in her entire life. It began with a missed bus, wrong bus, getting completely lost and luggage stolen. Just as she was about to give up and return home crying, she was arrested by a towering mass of muscle. Luckily for her, she wasn't being arrested and was just being informed that they had captured the thief and retrieved her items. From then on, Jerry became her friend and number one fan. Sora never quite understood what he meant by that though…

"It's been a while. How have you been?"

Sora smiled, "It has hasn't it? I've been doing good. Got a paper due after break though."

"Yee ouch! Ah those essays and whatnot. Thinking back on them makes me glad I'm not in school anymore, although I wouldn't say writing police reports are much better," Jerry said with a chuckle as he scratched the back of his head.

"How's Kate?"

Jerry blushed at the mention of his wife's name. "Actually," he started rubbing his chin, "She's been doing terrible."

Sora's eyes widened, "What!? What happened, is she okay?"

Crossing his burly arms, Jerry looked to the ceiling in thought, "She's been having mood swings, getting pissed at me for every single little thing I do. She also hasn't been feeling well, throwin' up and all everyday…"

There was a slight pause.

"OH. MY. GOD!" Sora exclaimed, hand over her mouth. "She isn't. You didn't-"

Jerry gave up the serious act and laughed, deep, loud voice echoing throughout the store. "Yup! I'm gonna be a daddy!" And smiled the widest, most genuine smile Sora has ever saw.

Sora squealed and wrapped her arms around him in attempt to give him a bear hug. "Gosh. When did you find out?"

"About a month ago. She's currently four months in. Starting to get the belly I tell ya, but don't tell her I told you that…"

Their conversation continued on in the store and as they went back into the topic of Jerry's job, a sudden thought popped up in the back of her head.

"Hey, Mr. Policeman, I'm just wondering, but has their been any cases of raping reported or recent cases of rape occurring around here?"

"Hmm, not that I know of. There hasn't been any reported as far as I know. I think the last one was about half a year ago, but then again, these kinds of cases are always hard to know for sure since the victims usually don't like to report it in the first place. Why?"

"O-oh no reason in particular," Sora looked at her cell phone, "Ah look at the time! I better get going."

"Same, Kate's going to blow a fuse since I was supposed to be back with her pudding thirty minutes ago. Damn mood swings," Jerry joked and complained at the same time.

"It was nice talking to you," Sora bowed and headed towards the cash registers to pay for her food and walked out into the white snow.

* * *

Talking to Jerry the policeman helped Sora breath a little easier since it lowered the chances of the blonde actually having been raped, however, like he said, it was impossible to know for sure unless the victim reported it herself or had a witness report it. Deciding to get her mind off of the depressing subject, she focused on deciding what she will cook for dinner with her newly bought groceries. Instant noodles were beginning to taste a bit bland after eating them for two days straight…

Taking the shortcut through the playground, she spotted a flash of blonde covered in snow. Halting to a stop and blinking her eyes thinking she just experienced déjà vu, she took a double take and indeed, saw familiar golden locks leaning against the elephant slide.

Eyes almost popping out of her head, Sora rushed over, the only thing keeping her relatively calm was that the fact that the woman wasn't naked this time. Sora slowed down as she got nearer so she wouldn't scare the blonde. She released a sigh of relief when she saw that the blonde was very much awake, looking at the sky and breathing calmly. Snowflakes slowly drifted from the sky and danced around the field of golden hair. Sora's breath caught in her throat.

It was a beautiful sight.

Standing there, watching the blonde sitting there against the slide, time seemed to freeze. Everything else around her was soon forgotten and ignored. The rustling of leaves became muffled and slowly faded until it disappeared completely. Pale skin glowed with a golden radiance, half lidded piercing blue eyes stared at the sky, not blinking once as snowflakes latched onto her long lashes.

Enraptured by the sight before her, Sora concluded that she was looking at the human personification of heaven.

A child's laughter snapped Sora out of her enchantment and she remembered where she was. Looking at the blonde again, with a clear mind this time, she let out a breath and proceeded to sit next to the woman. Putting down her groceries, Sora sat, hugged her legs and looked up at the sky with the blonde.

They sat together in silence, Sora's heart thumping at the awkwardness. Finally gaining enough courage, she looked over at the blonde. What she saw made her heart ache with sadness.

Why, Sora questioned, were those striking sapphire eyes looking at the sky with such rage and loneliness? Her kind heart immediately took over.

Letting out another deep breath, Sora smiled and looked to the sky, "You know, when I was a child, I used to always look to the sky everyday just like this."

To her surprise, although she didn't show it, the blonde looked over at her. Feeling the icy blue eyes on her, Sora's heart beat faster, but continued on with a steady voice.

"Back in Japan, I'd always beg my parents to bring me to the park, just so I could go to the highest slide and lay there to watch the birds play in the wind with their sing song voices, to watch butterflies of all the colors I could imagine dancing to the tempo of the leaves rustling in the trees, and just to watch the clouds drift by, slowly, as if there was all the time in the world," Sora's voice broke and paused as she took another breath. "I'd look to the sky and wish to go back in time, and that there was all the time in the world so that I'd be able to spend time with my parents before they died.

"My thoughts stayed like that for a few years, but then I realized what I was thinking and immediately felt guilty. Here was my aunt and uncle who also suffered sorrow from my parents' deaths, and kindly took me in and raised me as their own. How could I be so selfish as to ignore my adoptive parents' love and care?" Sora was lost in her own world, revealing much more than she intended to the blonde stranger, but she couldn't stop, it was the first time she ever talked about her feelings to anyone.

"My deceased parents' also would not approve of my thoughts, so I stopped thinking about it and lived to enjoy the here and now. I loved my adoptive parents deeply and I lived a happy life with them. But sometimes I still look at the sky and imagine my parents looking over me smiling and I can't help but wish I could grow wings and fly with them," Sora let out a chuckle and smiled sadly, "Just like an angel."

Tears silently ran down Sora's cheeks as she continued to look at the sky, lost in her own world, completely forgetting about the blue eyes still fixated on her.

Suddenly, she felt a feather lightly brush against her and wipe her tears away. Turning her head, she found herself staring into soft, azure eyes that made her feel as if her eyes never left the sky. Eyes and mouth slightly open from shock, Sora was at a loss of words as she watched the blonde stand up and hold out her hand.

"Layla. Layla Hamilton."

Immediately understanding what she meant, Sora wiped away her remaining tears, and took Layla's hand, laughing as more tears came pouring out.

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**A/N: Nothing much to say really...(readers are like: "Then why say anything?" _)...'cept:**

**Dedicated to _rixingyue_. 'Cause you are made of so much awesomeness, even this dedication doesn't show how much awesomeness I think you are made of (did that make sense? XD). If you guys haven't already, spread some love and check out _"Setting Her Soul Aflame"_**. **You will not be disappointed ;Db**

**Also to a certain someone, please ignore the time you receive this update. I was on a roll and it was either that, or losing my inspiration for another 6 months XD. Please don't hurt me ;_; **

**I feel as if my style has changed. This chapter IMO is pretty crappy, so if I ever feel like editing it, I will (low chances though), but if I get tons of reviews telling me that their eyes burn from just looking at the horrible piece of trash I call a chapter, I will get on it as fast as I could ;)**

**No more promises on when updates are gonna be 'cause I totally failed the goal I gave myself for this story, but as I have said before, my stories are not dead unless I officially say so :)**

**Till next time!**

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